Gates Foundation gives $33 million to UW for scholarships to
spur careers in public service law

The University of Washington School of Law has received a $33.3 million gift
from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for scholarships that will allow
hundreds of talented students to pursue careers in public service law.

The William H. Gates Public Service Law Scholarship program - named in honor of
UW Regent William H. Gates Sr. and revealed to him as a surprise on his 80 th
birthday yesterday - will, for the next 80 years, cover the expenses of five
new UW law students each year who demonstrate a commitment to careers in public
service.

"We're delighted to honor Bill Senior in this way," said foundation co-founder
Melinda French Gates. "He has been an incredible example to all of us, and we
wanted to express our admiration and appreciation with a gift that connects him
to future generations of committed, civic-minded students, and the ongoing work
of the University of Washington."

Regent Gates earned his UW bachelor's degree in 1949 and UW law degree in 1950,
before embarking on a half-century of law practice marked by distinguished
community service. He retired from his law firm in 1998 and now serves as the
co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"This program will give our law students an extraordinary opportunity to pursue
public service. I am confident that it will become one of the most
distinguished scholarships for the study of law," said Mark Emmert, University
of Washington president. "There is simply no better way to honor Bill Gates
Sr., a man who has given so much of his life to public service and to the
University of Washington in particular."

The Gates Public Service Law Scholarship program - to be known as the Gates PSL
Scholarship - is designed to develop a cadre of highly committed attorneys who
will stay engaged in public service.

UW School of Law Dean Joe Knight noted that "law will always be a crucial and
indeed essential part of preserving and enhancing a civil society.

"This scholarship program will serve as a reminder to all of our students about
the importance of civic engagement and participation," Knight said. "No one
better understands the importance of public responsibility and stewardship than
Bill Gates Sr. His life has been a stunning example of what many of us aspire
to achieve in our careers."

According to the UW's Public Interest Law Association, many of today's law
students will graduate owing in excess of $70,000 in loans. With the median
starting public interest salary at $37,500 (compared to $90,000 at private
firms), the share of new lawyers entering public interest fields has declined
over the last quarter-century, from 5.4 percent to 2.9 percent.

Meanwhile, seven out of 10 public interest organizations have trouble recruiting
attorneys, according to the American Bar Association. Yet the need is
demonstrated by a recent survey that found more than three-quarters of
Washington state's low-income households experience at least one civil legal
problem each year.

To address the problem, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's $33.3 million
gift will fund the legal education of five new UW law candidates each year for
80 years, including the full cost of tuition, academic supplies and room and
board. The program also will provide support for seminars and internships as
well as and several opportunities for Gates PSL Scholars and
other UW law students to collaborate on public service issues with other law
schools in Washington state.

The first five scholarships will be awarded in the UW School of Law class
selected in April.

Candidates for the scholarship must demonstrate a commitment to public service
law, academic achievement and aptitude, potential for leadership in the public
service law arena and financial need (to be used as a tie-breaker among equally
qualified candidates).Graduates who abandon the public service field or who
earn salaries higher than those prevailing in public service law are expected
to repay the scholarships as if they were loans.

Not coincidentally, the 80-year time span of the Gates PSL Scholarship program
also describes the age of Bill Gates Sr., who was born in Bremerton on Nov. 30,
1925. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, its co-founders and the Gates
family said they wanted to honor "Bill Senior's" deep commitment to public
service by creating a scholarship at his alma mater.

"We knew that the best possible gift for him would be one that supports and
continues his long tradition of service by opening the door of opportunity to
others," said Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation. "This program will have an impact not just on the lives of 400
scholars, but on all of the people they will serve."

All UW law students are required to perform at least 60 hours of public service
legal work in order to graduate. Students may satisfy the requirement through an
externship, a law school clinic or by participating in the
Street Law course. The school operates nine law clinics that enable 86 students
to work with actual clients on real cases. These students gain confidence,
insight and hands-on experience representing clients from underserved
populations in everything from environmental law, to refugee and immigration
cases to wrongful criminal convictions.

In 2004-5, UW law students dedicated 46,410 hours to public legal service.

On the lobby wall of the building housing the UW School of Law, which was named
for Regent Gates and dedicated in 2003, is the following quotation from him:

"Law is human service of the highest order. Our role as lawyers is to make it
possible for people to survive - and thrive - in an extraordinarily complex
world."